With summer upon us, it gets more and more important to make sure that we’re all staying hydrated. This can be tough with so many other options available and water gets to taste so bland, boring, and sometimes undesirable when it comes time to get a drink. While this is understandable, it’s still important to stay hydrated. We’ve found a few ways that you can motivate yourself to drink a little more water this summer.

Add Fresh Fruit

You can add some fresh flavor to your water by adding a little something extra. You’re going to find that adding something to your water goes a long way to making it more enjoyable. This is especially true with adding some fresh fruit. One of the beautiful things about adding citrus or berries to your water is that you can throw in just about as much or little as you want and it won’t ruin your drink. Cut up some strawberries and blueberries or slice some lemons. You have yourself a flavored water that provides you with added vitamins in minerals and provides you with electrolytes to help hydrate you.

Add an Herb

Not everyone goes for fruity drinks and that’s fine. Sometimes we want something with a little bit more of a bite. You can still get this crisp flavor while drinking your water and adding a couple of mint or basil leaves provides an extra cooling sensation with the hot sun. Understand that this isn’t for everyone and it might take some getting used to, but it’s another option for mixing up your water intake this summer.

Make Special Ice

If you’re not one for a flavor-blasted beverage, you can slowly diffuse flavor into your drink with special ice cubes. Rather than dropping your strawberries, blueberries, or mint leaves directly into your drink, freeze them in ice cubes and let the melting ice slowly flavor your water. Another easy way is to make ice cubes out of your favorite tea, coffee, or another flavored drink and allow that to lightly flavor your drink. You’ll look forward to your glass of ice water in the afternoon as it gives you a different flavor than what you’ve already had the rest of the day.

Get a Filter

Sometimes our tap water tastes flat-out blah. Whether it tastes too saline or has a distinctly odd flavor profile, bad tap water doesn’t encourage anyone in the house to hydrate. You can fix this pretty easily by installing something like a Brita under sink water filter. If you have bad-tasting tap water, everyone in your home will notice an immediate difference in the taste as it’s filtered and cleaned before it ever leaves the faucet. There’s no need to throw it in the refrigerator and wait for the filter to work as it’s ready to go as soon as you turn on the water. This also makes for better ice cubes as you can fill your ice trays with clean, filtered water.

Add Some Flavor

There are plenty of options available to quickly and easily flavor your water. Many are also sugar-free and won’t add any calories to your drink. This might seem like cheating, but companies like Crystal Light make single-serving packets that don’t do anything to diminish the hydration value that you get from drinking pure water. If anything, you’ll find yourself drinking much more water as these flavor packets are quite tasty. 

Add Some Bubbles

Part of why it can be difficult to drink enough water during the summer is getting bland and boring after a few glasses. Add a little bit of texture to your drink by mixing it with some sparkling water. It can take some getting used to drinking sparkling water because it is a little different than drinking a regular soda. If this is the case, start by mixing at about a 4-to-1 ratio then go up from there. You can acclimate yourself to the bubbles so it doesn’t overpower you from the beginning.

You can also get a machine that carbonates your beverages. This way, you’re able to have carbonated drinks at any time and create them the way you like them. Always check with the products company, as they may offer schemes such as get your CO2 cylinders refilled for free, which are definitely worth taking advantage of.

Sometimes people don’t like to drink carbonated drinks because there’s a common misconception that it will dehydrate you. The opposite, in fact, is true. Healthline says that the fizziness seems to enhance the hydrating effects for some. 

Make Tea or Coffee

Another myth is that drinks like tea and coffee that contain caffeine, which is a diuretic and encourages your body to evacuate liquid, will dehydrate you so we should not drink them when we’re trying to hydrate. While, aside from a few exceptions, these drinks do contain caffeine, there’s not enough to dehydrate you. The caffeine isn’t going to work faster than your body can absorb the water that you’re drinking from these beverages so you can enjoy them while you’re trying to hydrate this summer.